Rage of Bahamut: Love and Rivalry
by Crysi102
Summary: TabithaRose was just looking to save her order, and Anima was just looking for another battle to fight, but nothing turns out right when they meet at one of the biggest tournaments around. They discover a plot that could destroy the world, but they also find an unimaginable love deep in the confusion of two strange lives.
1. Chapter 1

Anima leapt up and flipped over his opponent, delivering an azure bolt at his opponent as he did. The Wind elemental fell to the ground, and Anima turned to block the next opponent's attack. The Ogre that attacked him locked Anima's blade in his large, meaty hand.

"Puny Reshef. You cannot defeat me!" The Ogre roared, his arm swung form nowhere and grabbed Anima's head. Anima held back a groan as the Ogre squeezed his fist tightly, laughing. Anima smiled.

"Idiot."

No sooner had the word escaped Anima's mouth than he pulled his other arm from behind him, loping off the hand of the Ogre with his second blade.

"Don't dare underestimate me!" Anima growled. He quickly delivered the defeating blow.

* * *

Watching the arena match was all manners of beasts. Everything from elves to Phoenixes to skeletons stood and talked to each other. However, nearly all of the groups were talking about one thing in particular.

Anima glared at anyone who tried to gain eye contact with him. His electric stare made almost everyone back away in fear. Folding his arms across his chest, he growled low in his throat.

"You done yet?" Anima asked.

"If I were done, I would have stopped wrapping this." Came the reply.

"Quinn..." Anima complained quietly. "Why did you have to tend to it here?"

"Because..." Quinn smiled slyly. "You hate it when I tend your wounds in public~"

Anima almost slapped the thief who was wrapping his head wound from the battle. "I don't need your help!"

"Aw, come on, don't make a scene now, Nima~ you'll only embarrass yourself more~" Quinn laughed.

"Shut up... You're so annoying."

* * *

Somewhere deep in the crowd that swarmed around the sitting Reshef stood a small group of people. A taller blonde with long hair and a beautiful white dress stood at the front of them, closest to the lightning demon. A pointed-ear elf with white braided hair glared from behind the blonde, and a gold-tipped white-feathered harpy fluttered above them, craning her neck for a sight of the lightning controller. A short, energetic shaman with spiritual tattoos was trying to push through the thick crowd.

"Do you see him?" The Shaman exclaimed. "Oh please tell me you do!"

The harpy looked down at the Young Shaman. "Spiff... There are too many flyers up here to see anything!"

It was the truth. The small group was stuck at the far back of the crowd, and not only was the crowd packed so close together to see through even their legs, but the air was filled as well with all creatures form harpies to wind elementals to dragons as well. Feathers littered the air and fluttered around the boiling crowd below.

"Can't you see something?" The Shaman asked, "Come on! You have the best eyes there are!"

"Spiff, leave the poor girl alone." The blonde muttered rubbing her temples. "Crys, where are you?"

"I'm here..."

The ghostly voice belonged to a faded figure that oozed out of the wall behind them. A cloaked girl with long, flowing white hair and a purple aura around her appeared. Her eyes were glowing dots in the darkness of her cloaked face. A few elementals around them stepped back as the ghost seeped forward, flexing her stiff sharp-nailed fingers.

"Can you get Spiff a view of the Reshef?" The blonde angel asked, her annoyance plainly visible on her face.

"I... Think... So..." The ghost's faded and raspy voice answered. "Passing people... Is annoying... Though..."

The Shaman yelped in joy. "Spirit sight!" He exclaimed quietly. His eyes glowed with a red aura which was shortly reflected in the ghost's own eyes. "Let's go!" The Shaman said. His voice was slightly strange, almost pained, but still energetic.

Crys nodded slightly and faded, oozing, back into the sea of bodies.

"HEY~ ROSE~"

The blonde whirled around to the call. "Who...?" Her eyes settled on a tall Hellhound coming her way. The Hellhound wore a blue dress with an elaborate matching set of belt and gem necklace. Deep blue roses sat in her tall gray ears, and a matching eyepatch covered her right pink-purple eye. Her skin was pale as her fur, and she walked with a strangely savage grace. "Ah... It's Anom!"

"TabithaRose! Who woulda thought we'd see such a low class idiot gang here? Where's your petty shaman? And that darn DeathShade?" The one who spoke was a tall man in a suit carrying a small puppet. The man's eyes shone dangerously gray for a second, and the puppet seemed to laugh at his comment.

"Oh, shut up, Kurtz." The Hellhound, Anom, growled. She turned back to the angel. "Forgive him. He's new."

"It's okay, Anom." Rose said, "I'm jut happy to see you after all this time! I heard Stargazerz got second in the last order wars!"

"Yes we did!" Anom said happily, "But it's all thanks to you and Supernatural that I learned what I needed to."

"You give me too much credit." Rose said quietly. "You did it on your own."

"No, I mean it!" Anom said. "Without you, there would be no Stargazerz!"

"You flatter me..." Rose laughed. "Why are you here anyway?"

"To watch Anima, duh!"

Rose looked up at the new addition to the conversation. There was a short fawn with a multitude of strange markings all over his body. His small horns emerged from curly brown hair and his bright green eyes shone brightly despite the dim light. This was Arb, the Stargazerz own fire elemental.

"Ah, really?" Rose asked. "You aren't here for the Semi-Mortals?"

Arb scoffed at her, laughing loudly. "Of course not! Anima is the BEST there's no way on earth that those Semi-Mortal fools could beat him!"

"Arb... I thought you liked the Semi-Mortals..." Rose muttered.

"I like Anima more!" The fire elemental said.

"What's so great about that guy?" Rose asked, remaining consistent with her ways of always speaking her mind.

"What's so great...? Are you kidding me? Anima is the ULTIMATE FIGHTER! NOTHING can beat him! He's a Reshef who hasn't yet upgraded any of his gear, never evolving even once like normal people would, but he still takes on five mane teams of the biggest orders and WINS! Don't ask what's so amazing!" Arb exclaimed.

"Arb..." Anom muttered, "please relax..."

"It's okay." Rose said.

Kurtz chuckled. "I highly doubt that it is actually 'fine' as you say." The gray puppet master said. "Especially as you are fighting this Anima in the next round of the tournament."

Rose froze as all eyes turned to her. Of course they knew she and Crys were I the tournament, but they didn't know when she fought, as they'd all been too busy watching Anima fight. Her face paled as she awaited the most likely response that could come from the group around her. She didn't get a chance to get yelled at though; the response was completely opposite what she expected.

"Wait... You get to... Fight... ANIMA!?" Spiff was suddenly back in his body and totally attentive.

"Why did you not tell us?" Arb exclaimed.

"I didn't think you'd care..." Rose stuttered.

"We wouldn't-? Of course we care! It's AN-" Arb started.

"Arb, why don't you go get us some snacks?" Anom said quietly. "Kurtz, would you go with him? And why don't you take Spiff too?" The group fell silent at her words. Her starlight embedded eyes glared at nothing in particular, and her hand tightened around her tall staff. "Now?"

Arb paused and glanced at Spiff, then exchanged a glance with Kurtz. No one moved.

"Let's go with them, Seimi." The Harpy said to the white haired elf.

"Thank you, Kaz." Anom said. The Harpy and elf led the group away, leaving the Hellhound and Angel alone.

The two stood for a second in silence, just sorta looking at each other. Finally, Rose turned to motion at a bench to sit on. "Shall we sit?" She asked. Anom nodded.

"So, you're facing off against Unborn?" Anom asked after a bit of silence.

"Yes." Rose admitted.

"Nervous?"

"Not at all."

"Who's fighting frontline?"

All arena matches had a team setup. There was a five person max on the team, but one could fight solo if now anted to. There were two 'Frontliners' who fought the opponent head-on, out in the open. One 'Support' member who helped with on field operations from the back, and up to two 'Substitutes' who would come in for an injured member. As it was that the members of the battle could change drastically, each team had to be very well made and highly compatible.

"We're going in with Crys and I frontline, then Kaz as sub, with Seimi as a possible support... By I don't think she's gonna be up for it." Rose said.

"A nice setup. I wish I could help." Anom muttered. "But I can't change orders in the middle of a tourney."

"I wouldn't want your reputation going down by people seeing you fight alongside me though."

"You really think that matters?"

"I do."

"It doesn't to me."

A voice called for the next battle participants to proceed to the arena. These participants were namely Unborn and Supernatural. The crowd that swarmed in and out of the large room at the moment cheered as Anima obviously made his way towards his side of the arena.

"We'll, that's my call." Rose stood, her bright white wings materializing behind her.

"Good luck." Anom said also standing. "I'll keep an eye on the others for you."

"Thanks Anom... You're a good friend." Rose replied. "Crys, lets go."

"I'm here..." The DeathShade ghost oozed forward to meet the angel. "Fighting time... Again..."

"Let's do this."

* * *

Anima leaned against the tunnel wall, waiting for the announcer to call his name over the crowd. The roaring tide of sound washed in and out of the dark tunnel and gently swept over him as he leaned against the wall of the tunnel. His arms were folded across his chest, just like always, and his dark hair was spiked strangely over his head bandage Quinn had wrapped. He had to admit, though it was reluctantly, that the bandage did lessen the pounding of his head, and possibly was saving him from being way off balance at the moment. It was, however, the cause of his massive headache.

Quinn stood opposite the Reshef, a brown haired samurai at his side. The black garbed thief blended into the tunnel wall, and only the faint light from the end of the tunnel of bright orange-yellow hair told of his position. The samurai was fidgeting, as usual, but didn't do anything but that; he thumbed his sword hilt constantly, and had all but worn the grip off in places.

Anima himself fingered his weapons. The two symmetrical blades faintly glowed with electricity where they sat attached to his forearms. They were beautiful, really. Two layered pieces of super-conducting armor coated his arms, and inside we're retractable blades that when exposed, naturally absorbed and conducted the electricity around him so the Reshef could control it at will. His most well known attack was the Azure Bolt; that is, a large bolt of lightning that partially immobilizes his opponents. He sighed.

"You ready?" Quinn asked. He could barely be heard over the crowd at the end of the tunnel.

"Of course." Anima responded.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" The Samurai asked suddenly.

"Baka, yes... I'm sure." Anima growled. "They're only using two frontliners. How bad can that be?"

"But they know its you they're up against! What if they're super strong or..."

"Baka, shut up." Quinn interrupted. "He said he's fine. So just shut up."

"Both of you shut up." Anima heard his name being called. "You're both annoying." He stood and walked out onto the field, letting the sound of the crowd hypnotize him.

* * *

Rose stood in the arena center, waiting for a view of her opponent. The arena was a giant temple; a Gods' field. Good for her, bad for Crys.

"Here he is..." Crys whispered, her form waving in the dim sunlight again as she seeped through a pillar.

The Reshef that appeared was just as he was said to be. Tall and thin, he stood taller than Rose by about a head, but Crys outdid him by about an inch, if you counted her fading and oozing. His hair was spiked and folded halfway at its length, being mauled by a bandage that was wrapped around his head. His eyes were fierce- what many would call cool- blood red, and his face was angled slightly. He wore a dark blue sleeveless shirt and a matching pair of pants that were half covered by longer pieces of almost a skirt in the usual Reshef fashion and a golden belt of the same metal as his blades. Soft boots resided on his feet. He wore two slabs of armor on his arms, and Rose knew by watching the last match, that they were dual blades he used to conduct electricity. He carried himself tall and arrogantly, obviously knowing he was better than others, or at least thinking he was.

She glared at him, proudly tightening her grip on her bow.

"Ready to dance?" She asked him, half spreading her pure white wings.

His eyes swept across Crys, then took in Rose's appearance in one top to bottom sweep. His face morphed into a cocky smile, his body shaking as he silently chuckled. "Only if you are, dear."raising his right arm, he clenched his fist, and a small triangular thing appeared from in the slab of armor. It floated there and promptly decided to coat itself in electricity, forming his first blade.

Rose out her first three fingers on her nonexistent bowstring and pulled back slightly. The normal light arrow appeared on the string. "Let's go then."

The sound to start the battle sounded, and the crowd roared as the two teams struck.

* * *

**A/N: yay~ my second fanfic~ this time around the game for iPhone and iPad called Rage of Bahamut. My friends and I recently started to play this game. My friend also even made a video outlining a romance between two rivals, and I picked up the story and made this. Here's the video: /#/watch?v=IBOcnmpZQbY**

**And while I'm here, I'm best off to tell you the cards used in this... Rose is a final form angel, Anima is a first form Reshef, Crys is a final form ghost, spiff is a final form shaman, Arb is a final form fire elemental, Kurtz is a final form Puppeteer, Kaz is a third form harpy, Seimi is a second or third form elf, Quinn is a final form thief, Baka is a first form samurai, Anom is a final form hellhound, and I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting... O.o"**

**anywho, I don't own rage of Bahamut. I'll say that now for the whole story. I probably shouldn't have to... Seeing as how this is a fanfiction Website... Bt, I'll say it anyway. **

**please fave, follow, review... And if you want a certain card and name combo to appear, just add it in the review, and I will find somewhere to put it~ thanks~**


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm not falling for that!" Anima exclaimed as he kept behind a pillar, dodging the Angel's arrow.

"You just did... " a raspy voice echoed in his skull, radiations throughout his body as he realized he'd made the biggest mistake of his life.

The pillar oozed and faded, morphing into a black-purple ghost. A DeathShade. The ghost clasped her thin arms around Anima's chest, her clawed fingers digging into his exposed shoulders. He grunted as she slammed him into the pillar and his head snapped back harshly. He yelped as she dug her claws tighter.

"Not so... Mighty now... Eh?" The DeathShade muttered.

Her raspy voice echoed through Anima's being, making his head pound and his bones ache. He yelped as the DeathShade dug her long, sharp fingernails into his skin, a trickle of blood trailing down to his fingertips. Her head craned around to look Anima in the eye, and the Reshef found he couldn't move when he met her gaze. She seemed to suck the life out of him. Small balls of light floated around her, one settling on his forehead. Anima's vision swarmed, his eyes lost focus, his body lost feeling. Breathing was hard, and Anima felt his entire body going numb. His knees shook in a vain effort to keep him upright. Sweat beaded up on his forehead, rolling in sheets down his face. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed. The match had just started, and yet he was already losing.

Black gnawed the edge of his vision, darkness began to consume his mind. He could no longer hear the roaring of the crowd, no longer feel the hard stone pillar he was pinned to, no longer see anything but the two specks of light that stared into his mind, into his very being. His body was cold, his breath came in harsh raspy gasps. No thought would form in his mind. No electricity ran though him as always, no adrenaline laced his movements like it always had. He only knew the cold, and the voice.

His knees finally gave in, and his entire body slumped into the DeathShade's grip. Vaguely, he felt the pillar behind him, but the feeling quickly vanished as the DeathShade sung more with that beautiful, enchanting voice. He knew nothing, but one thought drifted through his mind as the DeathShade's grip constricted his breathing more.

'I am going to lose.'

Fear emerged in him, and he vainly tried to move, to get away. "Stay... With... Me... Anima." The DeathShade silenced his useless revolt. "Lend me... Your strength."

He tried to shout out, tried to say no. He tried, but he could not move his mouth. Anima realized as darkness grew closer to consuming his whole mind that he wasn't breathing any longer. He had to breath. He couldn't breath. He felt like he was underwater, and the world spun as he fell to the ground, still defiantly fighting for his consciousness.

* * *

Rose stood ready with her bow, ready to shoot if anything in Crys' attack went wrong. The angel had held back the urge to leap with joy when the Spirit Wisp attached to the Rshef, and she now watched carefully to make sure the process of the attack went uninterrupted.

Crys had been the one to propose the plan. They'd known that Anima was most certain to come out alone, and so they chose to use a quick and simple effect to win. This attack was known as 'Dark Aura' and it was basically Crys using her Spirit Wisp to nearly literally suck the life from her opponent. The whole process took no more than three minutes, but it was taxing to the DeathShade's strength and endurance to maintain it for longer. To the poor Reshef, however, the feeling of slowly being suffocated must feel like a lifetime.

Rose watched as the Reshef's lips moved in a vain call for help, or possibly a scream of pain. His eyes dilated and lost focus. Quickly, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his knees shook. By this time, the crowd was roaring, wondering just what was happening. They would never know though, as the entire attack resided in Anima's own head. Two minutes ticked by and Anima's legs finally gave out. He fell limp, his mouth open and eyes distantly staring into Crys' glowing ones. He struggled a bit, as any opponent did at this point, but promptly decided to move his mouth like a fish and fall to the ground. Crys' faded figure floated above him, the Spirit Wisp funneling the Reshef's energy to the DeathShade. Her mouth moved slightly in an unheard song. Anima had nearly stopped moving at this point, and seemed to be flickering in and out of consciousness.

"Three minutes, five seconds. A new record." Rose muttered as she swept her eyes across the arena. "Pity."

All of a sudden, a dagger flew past her head. A black garbed thief leapt towards Rose who instinctively shot an arrow his way. The thief dodged with an elegant flip, and continued on his beeline for Crys. The substitute.

"Crys! Move!" Rose shouted.

The DeathShade snapped around to see the thief and promptly oozed back through the pillar, escaping just as a dagger slashed through the air where she'd just been.

"This is just great!" Rose exclaimed, shooting at the thief. They'd been so close!

* * *

"Nima! Don't dare die on me now!"

Anima fairly heard the vaguely familiar voice. He tried to respond that he wasn't dying, but again, his voice failed him.

Suddenly, the raspy, mystifying voice stopped, the pinpoints of light that had been the DeathShade's eyes vanished, and Anima found he could breath.

Gasping, his whole body spasmed as he regained feeling all at once. Heaving with an effort to breath through a throat that felt like it was crushed, Anima sat upright quickly, but soon regretted it as the world spun around him. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to focus his breathing. When he felt less dizzy, he glanced at the new figure in the arena.

"Quinn!"

"Thought you could use some help, Nima."

"You got that right." Anima heaved his half numb body off the ground, reenergizing one of his lightning blades. "What was that?"

"Eh..? It seemed to be that wispy thing that landed on your head." Quinn answered, elegantly cutting an arrow in half as it came towards them. "It didn't look like it felt very nice."

"No, it didn't." Anima slashed at the next arrow of light, slicing it right down the shaft. "Watch the left."

"Got it." Quinn responded as he slashed at the DeathShade. "You okay though?"

"Just pissed." The Reshef responded.

"Well, that suits us well." Quinn said.

"Hey, Baka didn't..."

"Nah, he's at the tunnel. Right."

"Got it. At least he won't- duck- be interrupting." Slash ghost back.

"Nice hit. And I guess it's good he isn't coming out, eh?" Throw dagger.

Dodge. "Yeah, Definitely."

"Shall we finish this?"

"Certainly." Anima energized his second blade. "Let's get these suckers." Quinn leapt up and vanished in the dim light of a setting sun. Anima dashed forward, ready to win another battle.

* * *

Rose shot arrow after arrow at the charging Reshef. He leapt, bobbed, and rolled, dodging each one. The thief was nowhere to be found.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Anima yelled.

"Crys!" Rose exclaimed.

The DeathShade appeared in the space between Rose and Anima, catching the Reshef's lightning blades with her bare hands. Three spirit wisps launched at Anima, attempting to attach to him again. Fear flicked in and out of his eyes as he pulled away, leaping back to safety. Rose managed to lodge an arrow in his shoulder before he landed, however.

"Dammit..." Anima growled.

Rose was about to shout something when a dagger sliced through her skirt, barely missing her leg. She spun around to block another attack form the thief. She wondered how Crys was doing in the fight against the Reshef, but the thought was torn off when a dagger implanted itself in her arm. She'd shifted last minute and was barely hit by the dagger. Rose had to use her wings to keep up with this thief. They found themselves face to face, serious smiles inches apart.

"Hello, beautiful." The thief said.

"Hello to you ugly." Rose retorted. They broke apart, only to re-lock dagger and bow not ten seconds later.

"That wasn't very nice."

"It wasn't meant to be."

"Touché."

"Say, how long do you think your Anima can hold out against a demon like a DeathShade?"

"Well, beautiful," The their smiled, "Anima's Azure Bolt may be most effective against gods, but he can still handle himself. It's not like he hasn't beaten demons before."

"He obviously hasn't faced off against a DeathShade before then!"

* * *

Anima was dodging attack after attack, attempting to get any sort of strike in on the ghost. With the ghost herself and three wisps to keep track of, he had his hands full. He heard Quinn striking up a conversation with the Angel. They seemed to be arguing. She was fast, almost faster than Quinn. Anima could tell from the short glimpses he got of the duo that Quinn was trying hard.

"Focus... Would you...?" The DeathShade asked. Anima had to- quite ungracefully- fall on his butt and roll to dodge the Wisp that almost got him. He sprung up to strike back the next wisp.

"What are those things?" Anima asked the DeathShade as she lunged again.

"Souls... I protect..." The ghost responded. Her voice sent shivers down the Reshef's spine. "They serve me... As friends..."

Anima spun to dodge her claw like fingernails, turning the dodge into an attack by swinging his lighting blade around to slash through the ghost. She flinched back, but remained the same. "So they're your slaves?"

"Far from it... They are... My friends... My dearest friends..." She struck again. "I don't... Remember their... Names... But they... Say they are my friends... So I..." Anima froze as four more wisps morphed from her sleeves. "Believe them!" Her voice raised to a shout at the end. She spun around, "ROSE!"

Anima figured out what they were doing a second late. An arrow flew through the air aimed perfectly at Anima's head. He bent almost all the way backward to dodge it.

"QUINN!" He shouted.

The thief had been confused but the Angel's sudden change in direction. He looked up at Anima's shout, only to be pinned down by the DeathShade. Anima couldn't help but shout out as two wisps attached to Quinn and the thief's eyes went blank. The DeathShade and thief seemed to sit there, almost suspended in time. Anima leapt up to aid his ally, but was cut off by the Angel. Anima was thrown off balance by the sudden intervention, and nearly fell at the Angel's strike. He turned the near fatal mistake into a back handspring to gain distance, but then had to deal with the Angel's immense range.

The two traded attacks for quite some time, Anima trying to get past, and the Angel stopping him at each turn.

"So, you're the great Reshef Anima?" The Angel asked, launching another arrow at her opponent.

Anima leaned right to dodge, and slashed with a blade. "I guess I am. What's it to you?"

The Angel laughed. "Nothing! It's just an honor to fight someone of such high status." They locked weapons. "After all, I'm just the leader of a small Order with no hometown."

Anima paused for a second, but quickly recovered to dodge another attack. "The leader of an Order?" He wondered aloud, "Why have I never heard of you?"

"Probably because..." The Angel shot another volley of arrows. "...No one cares about a small Order with no more than one team of members and no fame to speak of."

"How'd you get here then? Only good Orders have shown up here." Anima stole a glance at his lightning blade. Almost there... Just a few more seconds.

"We aren't as pathetic as some may think!" The Angel snapped. A larger volley this time, and one arrow grazed Anima's cheek. "We can fight alongside the best of them! You've never struggled this much against two opponents, have you!?"

Anima realized the truth. She was right. Never before had he had so much trouble going up against two opponents. Never before had Quinn ever even entered a battle with him. Never before had he been so close to losing. Something shifted in his mind, something far away, deeply hidden, something extremely obvious to him.

"What was your name again?" Anima asked, dodging yet more arrows.

"Huh?" The Angel seemed startled as she glanced down at the Reshef from the air. Se glided on beautiful, pure white wings, her white dress ripped from Quinn's dagger, her silver-gray chest plate dinged in some places, her long golden yellow hair flying in the wind around startled red eyes that seemed to glow under a beautiful golden halo. "Rose..."

"Well, Rose..." It was ready. Anima stepped back, a ball of azure lightning forming in his hand. "I'll tell you this. Never before have I shown this ability... Consider yourself lucky. Maybe your Order is worthy of my power."

The Angel- no- Rose's eyes widened as Anima threw the azure ball to the ground. A small smile escaped the Reshef's lips as dark blue lightning exploded from the ball of light, consuming everything in sight in a bright azure glow. The light turned all things into shadows, expelling all else from the arena.

Anima instantly knew he'd won.

* * *

**A/N: well, that went well... XD**

**please review, fave, follow...? Please?**


	3. Chapter 3

"THAT WAS SO COOL!"

Anima squeezed his eyes shut as his brain pounded in his skull as a result of his splitting headache. Quinn leaned on his shoulder, arm around his neck. The thief was badly dazed, and actually half blind for some reason at the moment, and staggered alongside the Reshef. Anima himself wasn't much better; he limped slightly and felt so exhausted that he was ready to drop dead. Having Baka walking in circles around them didn't help either of their pain as they made their way to the healing chamber

Baka was motioning wildly with his hands as he paced around the limping duo. "You were all like... BWOOSH! And she was like PWITWIWWW! And Quinn was all like GWAHHHH! And then BOOM you were all-"

"Baka, shut up!" Anima snapped, "You're so ANNOYING!"

Baka froze for a second, then laughed loudly, making Anima's head pound again. The samurai then continued to rant about how Anima 'must be kidding, because you love my talks'. Anima resisted the urge to reply with a 'oh? When did that happen?' But he carefully kept his mouth shut.

The healing chamber was finally in sight when the crowd caught up with the three person team. Within a matter of seconds, Anima and Quinn were being pushed, prodded, and pronged on all sides by absolutely CRAZY fans. Anima cursed as his legs was taken from under him, and he flopped it the found, Quinn landing on top of him.

"What the hell?" Quinn exclaimed, his half blind eyes flashing with worry. "The fans again?"

"Dammit where's the guards, eh?" Anima growled as he struggled to stand again, only to be forced down by another wave of fans. "This is so stupid..."

Another wave leapt onto the dogpile, attempting to glomp the Reshef. Anima was starting to seriously believe every bone In his body was breaking when a voice saved him.

"ANIMA!"

The yell was much unlike the rabid screams and squeals of fans; it was loud and demanding, angry ad vengeful. Anima suddenly wished he could hide away in the pile of fans forever.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU! LET ME THROUGH!"

Fans yelped as they were thrown aside, and Anima caught his first glance at the one who was yelling.

"ANIMA! I'LL KILL YOU!" The Angel Rose yelled as she recklessly swept her bow from side to side, knocking people away at each sweep. Why she was doing such a thing was a complete mystery to Anima, at least, until she got to them of course.

By the time she'd reached the center of the pile, most of the fans had backed away, and now formed a large ring around the group of four. Anima attempted to stand, but found himself half-standing with an arrow pointed right at his face, not an inch from his nose.

"What's going on? Anima?" Quinn stuttered.

"Um..." Anima couldn't say anything as he stared into the Angel's flaming eyes.

"You... Idiot..." Rose growled. "What the hell did you mean by what you said?"

Anima was horribly and utterly confused. What did she mean? What had he said? "Wha...?" Anima muttered.

"IDIOT!" She loosed her arrow. The object flew by Anima's cheek, barely scratching his skin as it bypassed him. "WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT MY ORDER?"

"What? What do you mean?" Anima exclaimed.

"'Maybe your Order is worthy of my power.'" Rose said in a mock voice. "What was that about?!"

"Oh..." Anima stuttered. Heat exploded onto his cheeks. "Uhm... That... Er... That was..." He kept stammering, unsure of how to answer, the heat in his face growing hotter and hotter until he felt like his entire face was burning off. "I just... Um..."

Baka cut him off.

"He wants to join your order! Duh!"

* * *

Rose froze, stunned at the Samurai's words. He'd said it like it was obvious.

"What?" Rose asked the Reshef. "Is... Is that... Is that true?"

Anima stared at her, eyes wide and face a shade of bright crimson. "Uhm... I..." He stammered, quickly looking away and shutting his mouth.

A single being in crowd that had accumulated around them broke the awkward silence first.

"ANIMA'S JOINING MY ORDER!" Spiff shouted. The Young Shaman ran forward and tackled the Reshef, laughing. "THIS IS SO COOL!"

A loud 'HARUMPH' drew Rose's attention. She looked up to see Arb with arms crossed across his chest. The Fire Elemental glared at the Young Shaman in jealousy. "For you maybe..." Arb growled at the Young Shaman.

Rose looked at the crowd, suddenly feeling quite unnerved. She stared at some of the vicious glares cautiously.

"Anima..." Rose muttered.

"I see it..." Anima replied, carefully pushing Spiff away and standing. With one hand, he hauled Quinn to his feet. "Can you...?" He asked quietly, Also scanning the crowd anxiously.

"Kaze can... Just hold on for a second." Rose breathed. Her eyes flicked up to where Kaze hovered. "Crys?"

"Right here..." Rose held back the urge to chuckle as Anima's back straightened with the response.

"Ready for escape plan Z?"

"Anytime..." Crys muttered.

"Let's do this..." Rose said. She slowly unfolded her brilliant white wings. She wrapped an arm around a highly protesting Anima, and Crys laid a hand on Quinn. Quinn flinched at the ghost's touch, but with a gentle word from Crys, he relaxed. The crowd was growing even more restless, noticing the slight movements of the surrounded people. One of the Young Vampires in the group took a hissing step forward.

"NOW!" Rose shouted. She pushed off the ground, taking into the sky. Spiff rushed to grab Baka's arm and pull him away, and Crys literally tossed Quinn to Kaze. "Meet up at Noon to Grass!" The groups scattered, covered in a psychic frequency sent by Crys, and within seconds, they were gone.

* * *

Noon to Grass was a small inn on the outskirts of a small outlying village. By the time all the fleeing members of Supernatural had arrived, the moon was high in the sky. Anima slouched in a rickety wooden chair that was leaned against the wall. Rose sat at the other end of the table, Crys oozing in and out of the wall beside her. Spiff sat to Anima's left, Baka across from him. Kaze lounged with her feet up on the table, and her winged arms behind her head. There seemed to only be one missing.

"Where is she...?" Rose glared at nothing as she muttered the words. "She's late."

"I prefer the term fashionably late."

Anima looked up at the door. A flash of lightning illuminated the doorway, revealing a silver-haired elf in the entrance of the Inn. She marched in, and tossed a rain soaked figure on the ground by the table.

The figure was a person; a human wearing an embroidered black and gold military uniform and a long red cloak. Thin silver rimmed glasses sat on his nose, and his dyed silver hair was pulled back by a red hair tie. An air of authority rested around the man, and he huffed as he collected the papers he had been carrying. Hastily, he stood and took his time adjusting his cloak and uniform, all the while with an extremely sour look on his face.

"You kidnapped him?" Rose wined. She flopped her head into her hands. "Why?"

"He didn't want to come, due to the rain. I had to drag him here. What other choice did I have?" The elf fell back into a tall bar chair by the counter and carelessly threw her mud coated feet onto the counter, leaning back dangerously on the chair's back legs. "He's always been a wimp though, so I don't know why you're so upset."

"Seimi! We'd been told not to kidnap anymore of the Order Managers!" Rose exclaimed. "Do you know how much trouble we are gonna get in for this!?" She looked at the unhappy strategist. "Machia, I am SO sorry about this!"

"Don't worry about it, Rose. I was planning on taking a vacation at some point." The Strategist said. His voice had a heavy, enchanting accent. "Besides, it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Almost two years now." Rose confirmed.

"What is it now?" Machia asked blandly, sitting carefully on a chair.

"Anima is joining our Order!" Spiff exclaimed.

Machia's eyes widened slightly, and his eyebrow arced skeptically. He looked up at Anima, meeting the Reshef's gaze. "Is this true?"

"Yes, it is." Anima replied.

"We'll then, let me get the paperwork together." Machia said calmly.

* * *

The next day, the group sat around the table once more with a stack of papers between them. Other guests started to emerge sleepily fro their rooms that morning, and Seimi took a spot at the main counter of the inn.

"Well then, here is Anima's end of the work, and here is your part, Rose." Machia said as he handed out each of the stacks to their respective owners. "Fill it out all the way, then turn it in to me and you'll be set."

Anima picked up the quill and stared at the page, hand frozen over the paper. He stole a glance at Rose. She had finished half of the paperwork already, without breaking a sweat. Anima had one page to fill out, but she had finished nearly ten. He glared down at the piece of white under his hand, wanting to write, but not being able to. He stuttered something as the words swarmed in his vision, mocking him.

"Give it." Quinn finally said. He snatched away the paper and quill and began writing in an elegant handwriting that didn't seem to fit him.

Anima slouched down in his chair, avoiding anyone's eyes. "Thanks... Quinn..."

"Uhm... I'm sorry to say this, but you aren't allowed to fill that out for him mr. ...?" Machia stated.

"Name's Quinn." Quinn replied as he flew through the forum. "And I'm sorry, but I have to fill this out."

"Why's that?" Rose asked as she paused on her paperwork.

"Because poor Anima here was too busy fighting to learn how to write or even read well." Quinn replied. Anima, by this time, was almost hidden under the table in embarrassment. The rest of the group just stared at the Reshef.

"So, you are his scribe then?" Machia asked cautiously.

"You could call me that." Quinn smiled. "More like personal-caretaker-and-guardian."

Kaze held back a snicker. "To think that the great Anima is illiterate!"

"Hey! That doesn't mean I'm dumb! I can read! I know things!" Anima protested.

Kaze chuckled, and Spiff was just plain laughing. Seimi seemed to not believe it, and Rose just looked at him. Crys was nowhere to be seen. Machia smiled.

"I guess as long as it is a scribe writing for you that it is fine." The strategist muttered.

* * *

Two hours and a lot of negotiations and embarrassment later, the entire Order had found out that not only was Anima illiterate, Baka was a useless fighter with a win record of zero, and Quinn had an extensive criminal record and a bounty for over ten million rupies, but that the Order 'Unborn' had once been an underground criminal masterpiece who's leader had been thrown in jail for two life sentences, leaving the completely undead Order to be sold to the highest bidder, who in this case happened to be a somehow millionaire Quinn. They also found out that while Anima seemed to be the leader, the one truly in charge of the three-person Order was actually the Thief, and that specific thief seemed to be overlooking several 'discrepancies' in the money books, some of which were worth nearly half his bounty. As if this wasn't suspicious enough on its won, the thief seemed not to know anything about these gaps in treasuring, and claimed to never have noticed them before that current day. Needless to say, there was a bit of disbelief at this claim, and it was set in stone that Quinn would never, no matter how urgent the need was, touch the Order Supernatural's funds. Ever.

Quinn seemed to be practiced at avoiding the wicked glares of atrocity sent his way by the other members of the newly-expanded Supernatural, and he continued looking forward with a placid look on his face as he finished the paperwork and handed it to Machia.

"Thank you." The strategist said. "Now, if the rain has stopped, I shall be on my way to file this paperwork and make it official."

"Thank you, Machia." Rose said. "You've always been a great help."

"It's really no problem." Machia said. "You are all such nice people..." He glanced warily at Seimi. "...almost all of you, anyway."

Rose chuckled. "That's nice of you. But can I send Kaze as an escort? We need that paperwork finalized before the next round of the tournament."

"Of course." Machia accepted the offer gratefully. He stood and bowed elegantly before turning to the Harpy. "Shall we?"

"Sure." Kaze said. The duo left.

Rose turned back to the other members of her Order. Baka was leaning on the wall, laughing as Quinn taunted the Reshef next to him. Anima was trying to duck below the table, but was failing miserably. Rose couldn't help but laugh at these strange new members of Supernatural. To think that everyone feared the 'greatly illiterate'- as he was getting to be known in the Order- Anima as he was the greatest fighter ever to arrive in the Arena. Then the Thief who had ten million sitting on his head, yet was not arrest-able due to his leadership of an Order. And finally the intimidating Samurai who apparently couldn't do anything right. How would they change the Order Rose had created so long ago? What would they add? A lot of laughs, surely. She smiled. This was going to be a great improvement for the Order.

"Quinn! Stop it!" Anima exclaimed. I seemed the thief was taunting the Reshef with food, holding it just out of arm reach. "Give me back my lunch!"

"Never!" Quinn laughed.

"Over here, Quinn!" Spiff exclaimed. He caught the plate of food as Quinn tossed it to him and ran, laughing, away from the raging Reshef who stomped after him. "Rose!"

"Here!" Rose exclaimed, joining the game. "I'm open!"

The Order played keep-away fro a while after that, ignoring the confused glances and looks shot at them by the other customers of the Inn as they laughed loudly and had fun.

* * *

Somewhere a ways away from Noon to Grass, there sat a large fortress that was half swallowed in shadow, and was cloaked in an ominous aura. Deep inside this fortress there was being held a meeting between two people. A tall Being stood facing a thin figure with three pairs of dark wings.

"Lucifer, how goes the project?" The first Being asked. His voice was melodious and smooth, yet dark and ominous at the same time.

"We are entering the final stages of the experiments." The Winged Lucifer said softly from where he knelt on the obsidian floor. "Do you wish to be shown the results?"

"Yes."

"Follow me, my Lord."

Lucifer led the other through a long hall that was lit dimly by strange green lanterns. A ghost crossed through the hall in front of them, checking on the spirit wisps that made the glow. As Lucifer waked, he held his right arm parallel to the ground across his chest, keeping his eyes forward, and back rigid for fear of seeming informal. The other being walked casually behind the winged demon, flipping a thin, yet heavy, string between his fingers. As they continued down the hall, they began hearing a variety of strange howls and screams coming from the doors they passed. A smile crept onto the following Lord's face.

"Lucifer," the Master spoke after a second. "Do you find these screams as... Delicious... As I do?"

Lucifer couldn't answer right away, but shortly decided to speak. "I do, my Lord." He turned to a particularly heavy steel door. "We are here."

The large door slid open, revealing a blue-purple light inside the cavernous room. Cylinders of a clear blue liquid were placed around the room, and humanoid figures floated inside, their bodies etched with magic circles and emblems. Most of them were asleep, but those that were awake floated with blank expressions as their eyes followed the new arrivals. At the end of the main row, there was an orb shaped tank, and inside floated a tall girl with pale blue-tinted skin and hair to match. She pressed her hand against the glass and stared with intelligent green eyes at the 'intruders' that looked at her.

"This is the first successful rendition of the original." Lucifer explained. "Say hello, SC-444." The girl continued staring, but a reading nearby bleeped slightly, as if she had recognized her code name.

"Beautiful!" The Master exclaimed. "Truly perfect in every way!" H walked around the orb, inspecting the girl. She followed him with her gaze, curious as to who this stranger was.

"We have named her 'Kenmei'." Lucifer said. "She seems so living, we couldn't leave her without a name."

"Understandable."

"But, my Lord, she seems... Flawed."

"How so?"

"She cannot talk without the reader over there."

"Hmn."

"We are trying to fix the problem, sir."

"Well... Finish the project quickly. I want to move out by the next Holy Wars."

"We are trying, my Lord, but... We can't find a suitable subject here."

"What are you implying?"

Lucifer suddenly was on edge, and shifted his feet nervously. "We'll, we know where we can find one that matches perfectly... But attaining this particular subject would be... Difficult." He chose his words carefully.

"Go get this 'perfect subject'. I don't care how, I don't care if you have to murder an entire race, just get. Me. That. Subject. You have permission to use... THAT."

The master made his threat clear; either Lucifer found the perfect subject for the project, or he would die.

Lucifer saluted stiffly, arm across his chest as the Master walked out. He glanced at Kenmei, a sad glint in his eye. "I have to go now."

Kenmei blinked, paused, then shook her head vigorously no.

"Look, I have to. You'll have the other scientists, okay?" Lucifer assured the girl.

Kenmei again shook her head, what seemed like a tear rolling down her cheek. Lucifer turned away, taking a few steps before the reader spoke for Kenmei.

"Daddy..." It said.

"I'll be right back, Kenmei." Lucifer said.

He didn't look back.

* * *

**_A/N: YAY~ FINALLY DONE~_**

**_im writing the note a bit late, but I don't care... I finally finished the chapter~ I tried to make it longer to apologize for it being so slow... Dd it work? XD_**

**_anyway, now you've met Luci~ ^^ he's a bad guy though~ (he's also a legendary Ranked card that I desperately want now~ XD) who could he have been referring to but 'perfect subject'?_**

**_... Don't ask me... I don't know either. XD_**

**_anywho, please please review? Please? Thanksies~_**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: OHMIGOD IM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER! ;^;**

**I am so sorry Tabi and Anima! I really am! I couldn't come up with the way to introduce the conflict! D: but fear not! I have had an epiphany! The story will be getting really good, really fast! :D**

**So now, without further ado... ENJOY!**

* * *

Anima sighed. "Why are we not fighting any more?" He grumbled.

"Because the Wars are over." Rose replied.

"Did they really have to rank us like THAT?"

The duo were looking up at a tall board with the ranking chart up. Even the illiterate Anima could see the meaning behind the (new) symbol of shining skull moon and dragon of (the newly revamped) Supernatural being placed on the ceiling while the rest were around eye level.

"It seems there is an overwhelming victor in this War, eh?"

Rose and Anima whirled around and came face to face with a few familiar faces.

"Anom!" Rose exclaimed happily.

"Who...?" Anima asked as Rose greeted her friend.

"Oh, yes! Anom, this is Anima, the newest member of Supernatural!" Rose explained. "Anima, this is my friend Anom. She's been a part of Supernatural since the start, and is now the Leader of the renowned Stargazers."

Anom bowed, smiling broadly. "It's an honor to meet such a grand fighter!"

Anima stared as if something had just smacked him across the face. "Wait... You mean THE Stargazers?" He managed before spinning around to face the wall for no apparent reason.

"What is it?" Anom asked nervously.

"Uhm... Well..." Anima seemed to have suddenly found something very interesting with his earlobe. "It's just..." Slowly turning, he finally met Anom's eye. "Immafan..." The words were barely audible.

"Wait... What?" Anom muttered.

"Stargazers are the top ranked Order! I just... I really am a fan!" Anima finally admitted, his face was a bright cherry red.

"Oh?" The voice belonged to Kurtz, the silver-haired puppet master.

"Kurtz..." Anom warned.

"Relax, Anom. I am merely having difficulty believing such a popular," the puppet master put an unusual emphasis on the word. "Fighter would be a fan of little ol' us."

Anima looked away as Anom responded.

"Well, I think that it's an honor to have such a famous fan!" The Hellhound retorted.

"Thanks..." Anima managed.

"What brings you here?" Rose asked suddenly, sensing a need for a change in topic.

"Just the rankings, that's all. And since only two from each Order are allowed in because of the crowds and all, Kurtz and I came on over to find our ranks." Anom explained, leaning casually on her staff.

"Makes sense." Rose said. "We're here for the same thing."

A voice suddenly erupted from a large pedestal above the crowd.

"YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" The voice exclaimed, booming across the halls. The crowd below turned as one to the tall platform to see the beautiful Angel Queen step forward to talk.

The Angel Queen flipped back her light brown hair and looked around at the surrounding people.

"Hello~" She said, waving daintily. "You all know me. I am Angela, the event coordinator for all of us here." There were a couple of cheers and woots from the crowd. "I welcome you Order Leaders and Top Fighters to the Holy Wars Results!" More cheers. "Now then, I am here to tell you all about the newest event from straight at the top! This will be an arena event, meaning you get to have a team of five go in, and switch out if you want, to try and clear the objective!" Several leaders fist-pumped the air, and Anom chuckled.

"Gives big Orders the advantage, eh?" The Hellhound said.

"Just a bit." Rose responded.

"Now then, this won't be a battle quest like the wars, but it'll be like that Halloween quest from last year!" Mixed emotions raced through the crowd. "Only this time, teams will race not to find a party of undead, but to navigate through a never ending blizzard and find the..." She paused for effect. "CRYSTAL CASTLE!" She raised her fist in the air triumphantly as the Order leaders cheered. "Teams can start leaving in the morning! But remember to bundle up! It'll be cold out there!"

With that, the Angel Queen vanished without a trace, and the meeting disbanded.

* * *

"Why aren't they back yet?" Anima growled, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Come on, don't you think it would be a teensy bit difficult to find a suitable switch spot in the middle of a never-ending blizzard?" Rose refuted.

"Quinn's amazing at this sorta thing, though! He shouldn't be taking this long!" Anima responded. "He should be ba-"

Anima was cut off by a flash of white light. Out of the portal walked a snow-covered Quinn, an unhappy Spiff, and a half-frozen Kaze. Spiff, who was bundled in a heavy woolen coat, shoved a small metal stick at Anima.

"Your turn." The Young Shaman growled, ice audibly cracking as he moved. "I hope you freeze."

Anima looked appalled at the idea of freezing, and Rose quickly stepped in. "He can get moody when he's upset." She explained.

Anima snatched the stick away from Spiff and grunted. Spiff was led off by Kaze who followed Quinn to a 'defrosting' station. Quinn glanced at Anima.

"Good luck." The Thief muttered. "It's a whiteout right now. Try and head North, follow the path." Anima nodded. "Oh, and keep going uphill!" Quinn finished. "The castle's at the top."

"Got it." Anima responded.

Quinn nodded, his normal joking self completely gone. He turned to meet up with the others.

"We'll then, it's just us now." Rose said. "Shall we?"

"Let's get this over with." Anima growled, fluffing up his furry coat collar. "This winter gear is annoying."

"Get used to it. We'll be like this for a while." Rose chuckled.

"Whatever." Anima groaned. The duo stepped into the portal, and it snapped shut behind him.

* * *

The arena for this event was a large set of two mountains. They sat precariously close to a large ravine, and their rocky slopes were dangerous to climb. All Orders started at the base and made their way up the mountain, fighting through randomized monster battles and miscellaneous encounters with other Orders. The higher one got on the mountain, the more monsters, storms, and towns one would encounter. At the same time, the temperature would drop more and more drastically. Supernatural had been sat at a beautifully disgusting slope that was frequented by avalanches and blizzards. The first three person team had gotten about a quarter of the way up the mountain before the first blizzard and they were forced to return to the main hub. It was up to the two member group of Rose and Anima to venture as far as they could through the storm and- hopefully- reach the first checkpoint at the halfway point.

Rose immediately pulled her scarf higher on her face and pulled her hat lower, guarding herself against the cold. The only issue with the heavy winter gear was that she couldn't use her wings to make traveling faster. She glanced over at Anima, who was less than three feet away, only to find white.

"Nima?" Rose called, yelling to be heard over the wind. "Nima! Where are you?"

"Right here!" Came the response. He didn't seem to notice the use of his nickname. A hand grabbed her own. "Let's find shelter! We have to get moving!"

Rose saw the truth in the words. Her knees were almost covered in snow now. "Let's get moving!"

The two trudged through the snow, making drastically slow progress through the storm. Rose gripped Anima's mittened hand tightly in her own custom-gloved hand as they moved. Finally, with no true reason, the storm suddenly stopped. Rose gasped at what she saw.

They were standing on a beautiful plain of snow, a flat on the mountainside. The snow sparkled gently in the light and casted a lovely and enchanting aura over the mountainside.

"Oh, wow..." Rose gasped.

"It's... Amazing!" Anima muttered.

The two stood in the plain, staring at the white crystals that coated the ground. Rose glanced at the wide eyed Anima. The Reshef's bright red eyes took in everything they saw. He turned in a circle, looking like a little kid.

"You're acting like you've never seen snow before." Rose said. She had to admit, this was the most snow she'd seen for a long time.

"Not this much. I've never seen this much snow." Anima muttered.

"Neither have I." Rose looked at Anima, and he looked back. "Isn't it amazing?"

"It's... Beautiful." Anima breathed.

Vibrant red eyes met pale red ones, and the duo stared at one another for a second, a minute, five. Finally, Rose turned away, a faint blush on her face.

"We should get moving..." She managed to mutter.

"We should." Anima agreed.

The two had taken one step forward when the heard a yell. The voice was young, and it was calling for help. Rose glanced at Anima who stared back wide eyed. On an unspoken cue, the Reshef dashed forward, almost gliding on the snow top, and Rose took to the sky on her vibrant wings.

They rushed over the next rise to see a small valley of sorts. In it a battle was raging between a duo of fighters and a thin sorcerer of some sort. The sorcerer was a tall, thin woman with pale white skin and a ice like crown on her head. Her long light green hair glistened like ice, and she was armed with a long staff-like wand. The glare she gave her opponents was inhuman, but not demonish either. She was clearly a monster from the god faction.

The duo that had called for help consisted of a small boy with long silver hair and some form of magical markings on his body and a tall winged man wielding a long sword in vain against the sorcerer.

"Luci!" The thin boy shouted.

"Enkidu! Stay back!" The tri-winged man exclaimed, dodging a flurry of ice shards the sorcerer sent his way.

"He's hurt!" Anima exclaimed. Rose saw it then, one of the winged man's arms was hanging useless at his side.

"Why does he not warp back to the arena?" Rose asked.

"The sorcerer has their portal." Anima growled, indicating the small silver rod the monster had. The portal was the way out. Without that, there was no leaving the arena except by death.

"We have to help them!" Rose exclaimed as the winged man took a ice spike to the leg. "Even an Archangel can't fly for that long without having troubles!" Se spread her wings, intending to fly.

"That ice Mage is a God Faction! Get me close and Azure Bolt can finish it!" Anima said as he energized a lightning blade.

"I'll cover you! Let's go!" Rose knocked her bow and leapt into the sky. With a fierce shout, Anima charged over the rise in the mountain and into battle alongside the Angel Rose for the first time.

* * *

**A/N: well then~ does this "Luci" sound familiar? :D**

**so, it's the end part of the holidays, and I'm a bit late for Christmas, but happy holidays nonetheless! Here is your holiday update, Tabi and Anima! I hope you like it!**

**Next chapter, the plot starts to evolve! And this event that they are in has already ended in game, but its still winter, so i shall keep it~ this is the Blizzard of the Crystal Castle event, and the sorcerer they are facing is a final form Skadi. Well, I shall go write the battle now! XD**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEARS! My resolution was to update this, and so I have! Written it in one day too! :D**

**So, we left off at a battle~ lets get to it!**

* * *

Anima gritted his teeth as he was sliced through by a fierce cold wind. Using his lightning blades, he managed to cut away the ice spears launched after the blast of freezing air, only to be hit again with another wind. He had to squint to see the Sorcerer through the blizzard that surrounded her. Every now and then an arrow would divert the wind for a moment allowing a momentary charge, but then the wind would strike back just as worse as before. Not to mention Anima was slowing down in the below zero temperatures. With all of that combined, he was getting nowhere.

It was when a ice spear almost pierced him through that Anima ripped off the constricting snow coat that he had been wearing, cursing lightly as he was fully exposed to the wind.

"Much better." He growled, finally able to move fully.

Anima had lost sight of the winged man, but charged forward anyway. In the next volley of arrows, Anima leapt forward in their wake, finally reaching the Sorcerer. As he waited fro the next volley, he had to concentrate on dodging the now close range ice spears.

"Fool! That's a Skadi! She will crush you!" Came a yell, probably from the Winged man.

Anima chuckled and dashed forward, following the next arrows. A Skadi, huh? The blizzard, while cold, had most affect on Demon Faction members. Anima was a God Faction, meaning he wasn't as affected. On the other hand, Anima himself had a weapon that would decimate God Faction members. His right blade sparked and turned bright blue as he activated his Azure Bolt.

With a roar, Anima slashed at the Skadi. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the bright blue bolt come her way, slashing through where she had been. The Skadi leapt out of the way just in time, her blizzard shield breaking as she dodged the attack.

A wave of power swept over Anima, and his second lightning blade sparked blue. The Reshef glanced at the other duo to see the thin boy using some ability to boost Anima's energy. Anima nodded at the boy before leaping after the Skadi. Rose had kept the Skadi from using her abilities again with several arrows that prevented most movement. Anima shouted as he slashed with his last Azure Bolt, effectively destroying the Skadi.

Anima snatched up the silver rod the Skadi had obtained as his feet finally hit the ground. He dropped to a knee as he panted from exhaustion. Rose landed next to him and caught his arm before the Reshef could collapse completely.

"You okay?" Rose asked.

"Yeah... Just really cold." Anima responded.

"Here."

Anima and Rose both looked up to see the thin boy holding out Anima's coat.

"Thank you." This time it was the winged man talking. He limped beside the boy. "You really saved us there."

"No problem." Anima smiled weakly. He a center the coat and quickly put it on. "It's bloody cold out here..."

The boy smiled, himself without a coat or shoes. "It is."

"You have to be crazy to walk around like that." Rose muttered.

"It's no problem." The man said. "Enkidu here doesn't feel cold. I myself am barely affected."

Anima finally had a better chance to inspect the duo. The boy Enkidu was fairly feminine in appearance. He was covered in some form of magical tattoos that had glowed upon his ability activating. A light red cloth was wrapped around his chest, and another cloth was wrapped as a sort of skirt that would be used by a tribal group. A skull-head belt held the skirt up, and formed a sort of decoration. His silver hair nearly covered his light blue eyes, and hung in a loose ponytail to the middle of his back. His arms were blackened over almost half of his arms, making it look like he was wearing gloves.

The man was tall and had a shining dark armor that covered all of him but his left shoulder and collarbone. His hair was short and silver, covering what seemed to be pointed ears. His black eyes were the same color as his black gauntlet on his right arm, which had some sort of sky blue aura radiating around it. Overall handsome compared to most. His wings were bright, three sets of them like a high Archangel would have, except the middle set were feathered black with what seemed like claws on the top edge of them. He held a large one handed long sword proudly in his hand. Enkidu had called him 'Luci'. Something about this man was unsettling.

"I envy you." Rose laughed, handing the man the silver portal rod.

"Don't." The man simply said.

The group stood there for a minute in silence before Enkidu talked.

"Your hair is pretty." The boy said, reaching to touch Rose's golden hair.

"Thank you." Rose laughed awkwardly. "Yours is nice too."

Enkidu had only stroked Rose's hair once when the man snatched up his hand. "That's quite enough now, Enkidu." He said. "I apologize she is still young, and new to the world."

"No, I understand. Is this your first event?" Rose smiled as Anima stood shakily.

"It is. Oh, I haven't yet introduced myself." The man reached his hand out to Rose in greeting. "I am Lucifer of the Demon faction. This is Enkidu of the God faction. We thank you for saving us."

Anima snatched his hand before Rose could. "Anima, Reshef of Gods, and Rose, Angel of Gods." He replied in a half growl. "Glad to have helped."

Lucifer's eyes widened slightly, his eyebrows arching in a minuscule motion. "So, that was the legendary Azure Bolt that you used?"

"It was." Anima said. "But what was it that Enkidu used before?"

"That was Lugal Gilgamesh, her ability." Lucifer said. "She has the ability to boost the power, strength, and energy of anyone she wishes."

"Ah." Anima muttered staring at the young girl. "I don't believe I have ever seen that ability."

"It is unique." Lucifer stated.

"Hmn." Anima muttered. He glanced around. "It isn't a good idea to stay still, do want to port back?" He motioned at the portal rod.

"No. We just got here. I'm not one to give up after one fight." Lucifer said.

"Luci never loses! He's unstoppable!" Endiku exclaimed suddenly. Rose laughed at the outburst.

"You can travel with us! A bigger group can help us out!" Rose exclaimed.

"Of course, we would be-" Lucifer started.

"One second please." Anima interrupted. He spun Rose around to talk to her without being overheard.

"What?" Rose snapped.

"Look, this is not a good idea." Anima growled.

"Why not? We helped them, it's the least we can do to travel with them for a bit to make sure Lucifer is alright." Rose retorted.

"That girl isn't what we think." Anima shot a glance at a giggling Enkidu. "Her ability... Is way too strong for that personality. And Lucifer... He's too strong. I don't like it. We should stay away from them."

Rose gently peeled Anima off of her and looked him in the eye. "You are imagining things. Don't worry about it. Loosen up a bit."

"But Rose, you don't understand! I've seen plenty of-" Anima protested.

"No. They are traveling with us. You can go home if you don't want to go with me. Now, stop it."

"I still don't trust them." Anima growled.

"I do."

Rose turned back to Lucifer and Enkidu. "You would be welcome to come with us as long as you want."

"Thank you, Angel Rose." Lucifer grinned. Anima swore the tall winged man shot a glare at him. "Shall we proceed? I'd like to get as far as possible toady."

Rose nodded. "We shall proceed."

She turned up the mountain with Lucifer and Enkidu. Anima was forced to follow despite the deep feeling of unease that was steadily growing inside of him.

* * *

**A/N: well then, there it is, however short it may be... The first update of the new year! Updated at exactly midnight my time, just so you know~ anywho, I hope Tabi and Anima liked that~ anyone else who has read this far, please review! Please! That will make my holidays! *hugs all and sends virtual cookies to all***


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: well then... It has been quite a while, huh...? Orz SORRY! I have had zero inspiration lately... But I shall trudge on, because I feel a little guilty about not updating lately. To apologize, I think I will give you my Phantasy Star Zero fanfic soon. I got about seven chapters of that ready... Please look for it soon~**

**I think I'll put out a contest for reviews... But what should I do? Leave a review, and your idea might just become my contest! :D**

**In any case, enjoy this (ridiculously short) chappie!**

* * *

Anima wouldn't stop staring at the two new additions to the party. Rose mentally rolled her eyes at the thought. After all, the Reshef had been totally willing to put his life on the line for these two not that long ago. The group was forced to make frequent stops due to Lucifer's injuries. His left arm, though protected by the armor, was nearly immobile, and he had a slight limp. Nonetheless, he managed to keep up with the group nicely, and he even managed to help fend off several other monsters. With the help of Enkidu's stamina and strength regenerating ability as well as the strength of Anima and Lucifer, the group of four managed to make it nearly halfway up the mountain with minimal stops for getting new supplies.

Rose glanced at Lucifer who was eating a small box lunch that some Samurai's may have been seen eating. Enkidu sat nearby, munching on a half-frozen peach, her face shining with excitement. Anima was giving Lucifer his normal occasional glares while he ate his meal. Rose had already finished hers, and was readying herself to continue up the mountain.

"Are we ready?" Lucifer asked.

"I am." Rose nodded. "Can we go on ahead and let them catch up?" She felt Anima's surprised look on her golden hair. She really didn't want to deal with his stubbornness right now, so she continued to look away.

"Enkidu will be good, won't you?" Lucifer asked the girl.

"Yes!" Enkidu exclaimed happily.

"Well then, Anima, I will see you when you catch up." Rose said, waving her hand lazily. "Lets go, Lucifer."

"With pleasure, my lady." Lucifer bowed.

"Hey! Rose!" Anima started.

"See you soon Luci!" Enkidu exclaimed happily, cutting off Anima.

"Be good!" Lucifer replied, a smile splitting his face.

They traveled up the mountain at a good pace, leaving path markers wherever possible for the others. They rose over the next rise to see a tunnel lined with crystals of ice that reflected light like bright prisms.

"Ah, the next dungeon." Lucifer muttered, stretching.

"Maybe we should stop here, wait for them." Rose glanced over her shoulder. The uneasy silence they'd traveled in had unnerved her for no reason, and she wanted Anima nagging her to be careful.

"We told them to catch up. The least we could do is get through this dungeon first." Lucifer stated. He strode off toward the ice caves.

Rose glanced back behind her, then dropped another marker and followed her companion. "Wait up!" She called to Lucifer. He didn't slow down.

* * *

The castle was dark and loomed dangerously overhead as the red head and blonde stared up at it from the cover of a large boulder.

"Well, Alberich, we finally arrived." The redhead whispered. "The treasure MUST be in there."

The blonde chuckled lightly, adjusting his tan cloak carefully. "Mortals like us should have no power here in the realm of demons..." He unconsciously rubbed his golden ring that sat on his first finger. "It's amazing we came so far. You really are the best, Zuberi."

Zuberi laughed. "Let's go find that treasure!"

He dashed forward, toward the hidden sewer under the gates of the castle.

* * *

**A/N: I know this is more of a filler than anything, but I have officially switched to trying for biweekly updates. I'm so sorry that this story hasn't been going much of anymore... I love the characters and the conflict I have planned is awesome... But I'm working really hard on my Phantasy Star Zero story right now (hit 10,000 words today! :D), so please look for that soon... Ish. Please forgive me for being so late on updates! Orz**


End file.
